


The Life and Death of a Star

by linnelines



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Eventual Smut, Gen, Gender Neutral Farmer (Stardew Valley), Love Triangles, Pelican Town residents but im too lazy to tag all of them, Pining, Possibly Unrequited Love, Slow Burn, anxiety/depression, is anyone mentally okay in pelican town?? no
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:42:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28826163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/linnelines/pseuds/linnelines
Summary: When the new farmer arrived, they didn’t know just how lonely the green fields and lush trees could be. The world that they knew was shrouded in uncertainty, tethering over the edge between the known and the unknown. But in a universe so expansive and ever-growing, why is it that they have been pulled between two stars that threatened to burst?Elliott was self-assured. Handsome, educated, polite. The type your mother would love to see during the holidays. But behind his exterior hid a mask of pure, unadulterated need and want. And meeting the farmer was enough to spark the fire.Shane on the other hand, was the town fool, the southern position of the compass when Elliott was the north. In his hands laid a decision that haunted him from the waking dawn to the setting sun. Was he allowed to want something like this?Love-triangle (?) where the Farmer wants Shane, Elliott wants the Farmer, and Shane doesn’t know what he wants but he knows he doesn’t deserve it.
Relationships: Elliott/Player (Stardew Valley), Shane/Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	The Life and Death of a Star

**Author's Note:**

> Man this took a while huh? But here it is in all its glory! I can already tell this fanfic is gonna ruin me both emotionally and physically but yall asked and yall have received it. Follow me on tumblr @stardrophearts for updates/more hcs!

When the farmer thought of it and thought back to everything that had transpired after moving to the valley, it almost seemed destined. They weren't the type to believe in predetermined destinies or fates written in the stars. Still, everything fell around them nearly perfectly, too perfectly. The thought had come like a daydream, as if someone dear to them in a time long gone whispered in their ear and urged them, guided them, towards the sealed envelope in their desk. They had blinked once, and then again, and suddenly they were looking at the passing trees and breathing in the salt of the sea. City skylines had faded from view at around the 40th mile, they noted, and despite this, the world continued. The bus trudged along, and the hills followed closely by. Like ocean waves, they rolled and crashed, like sighs and breaths. The landscape they had known was no more, and they were now in unmarked, unexplored territory. _The first step is always the hardest,_ grandfather had always said, and as the farmer thought back, a new beginning is what they needed. The farmer was convinced of this. They reclined back in their seat and closed their eyes again. A small ache erupted in their chest, but they pushed it away. _Not now,_ they thought. _Not on the bus._

When they opened their eyes, the brightness of the sun blinded them momentarily, and they lost their footing exiting the bus. Strong, calloused hands gripped their arms, and as they adjusted to the light, they saw a friendly freckled face beaming at them. She smiled, and suddenly the lines on her face grew more profound than the veins in polished wood. The woman held her hand towards them and steadied them as they planted their feet firmly on the dust road. The veil lifted, and the farmer stood dazed, unsure, and unaware of the life they had stumbled blindly into. But the woman's grip on their shoulder was firm and reassuring, and the farmer didn't push it away. It wouldn't be the last time they would seek someone else's hands like this. 

The way their feet carried them to the door of the old and abandoned cabin and the way their hand rustled the cold iron doorknob mimicked a puppet on a string. "Rustic," the carpenter had said, but looking at it now, rustic wasn't the word they would use to describe the disarray inside of the place. It had been empty for a good 15 years, and it sure showed on the walls and floor. Dust and cobwebs decorated the corners of the cabin. At the same time, the clear and unmistakable scuttering of mice echoed through the floorboards. The farmer ran a hand through their hair and sighed. In spite of the mess, under the grime and neglect of the years, it was the same as it had been in their memories. They could almost see themselves running through the door, oranges in hand and bandaids on their knees, hands reaching out for their grandfather. It had been a long time since they had felt anything like nostalgia. With the stench of the city and the hot pavement under their feet, and with the stuffy crowds and uneventful daily life, nostalgia was as rare as a shooting star striking through the city's cloudy gray sky. They couldn't afford to reminisce. But here, out so far, the only thing familiar to them was the sense of longing for better days. The farmer didn't believe in anything like fate, but perhaps the strings of time and tide had led them to this place once again, in the middle of the world _. But for what,_ they thought. _What was the thing that kept them tied to this place, to begin with?_

The first night was the loneliest of all, they realized. Although the comfort from the stars shining above their head was intense and brilliant, the cabin's darkness was too suffocating, even with the slight chill of the spring. They tossed and turned on the rickety bed, holding the pillow close to their chest, feeling the same ache from the bus ride rise in their chest and engulf them whole. Tomorrow will come, again and again. And the farmer would need to make it to the end; they had promised that much to their grandfather. Tomorrow they would need to take the first step. Acclimating to their new environment and meeting new people... the experience of "newness" was still confusing. Terrifying, even. But the world moved despite these feelings. They turned off the bedside lamp, and they sank into the bed. The crickets sang, and the world turned dark once again. 

. . . . .

As the farmer stood in the middle of the pathway that led towards the town square, they noticed the lack of noise. There were no cars honking outside their window, waking them up from their sleep; there were no trains blaring their horns on their way outside. The only noise present was the chorus of songbirds in the nearby trees and the distant babble of the river. It was silent for the first time in their life. It was odd. It seemed like most of the time they were too busy trying to ignore the sounds of daily life to catch the way the wind blew through the trees or hear the faint pecking of birds on the bark. But here, they didn't need to ignore. Like a cascade of sound, the valley was peaceful and resplendent in the way that the valley sang. They could hear their thoughts for the first time in quite a while. The farmer looked towards the piece of paper in their hands and made their way through the dusty pathway. 

Mayor Lewis was kind enough to write down the names of Pelican Town's residents, as well as include a crude map of the surrounding areas before he had left the farmer alone yesterday. They remembered Robin snickering at the map, laughing at its childishness before the Mayor stated, "It's not meant to look pretty. It's so they don't get lost." But as they neared the town square, the pit in their stomach grew, and they suddenly felt tiny in comparison to the small town. It was still early enough, they thought. The farmer had hoped that if they got up earlier than everyone, then they wouldn't be able to say they didn't try to meet everyone. The farmer wasn't used to this; they weren't used to anything of it. In the city, it was so easy to ignore everything. They never had time to chat with their neighbors or ask them how they were doing. The hallways of the apartment complex the farmer lived in were always empty, save for the few times delivery came to others' doors. City life was isolating, so much that the vastness of the valley and the intimate nature of everything made them feel unprepared to deal with any of it. They had been alone for long enough; did they forget how to interact with people in the first place?

Their eyes searched for a nook or a cranny to hide in, to wait for the feeling to pass. Still, as they stepped backward, as they tried to regain their senses, they felt the undeniable feeling of _someone_ right behind them and the collision that happened shortly after _._ They didn't have time to think as they were sent tumbling backward onto the hard cobblestone, their map falling through their fingers. They heard a small "oof" emanate from a gruff voice, and as they looked towards the noise, the farmer noticed the man they had knocked into, his blue jacket slightly slipping from his shoulders. The farmer dusted themselves off hurriedly and reached their hand towards him. He looked up, hair messy and beard scruffy, his eyes like coal. 

It was just like the calm before the storm, the farmer realized after. It was the first piece that they held before it ignited. 

"I'm so sorry!" They started. "I wasn't looking-" 

The stranger looked up at them, unamused, and shoved their hand away with the back of his hand. As he got up, he dusted himself off and furrowed his brows, eyeing them up and down. His eyes were sharp like a jagged, untouched stone found deep in the crevices of the earth. Before he turned, he spoke sharply, mimicking the edges found in his eyes. 

"Watch where you're going." 

Without a second thought, he walked away.

The farmer stood, their hand still in the same position while their eyes followed his moving figure down the town square. As the stranger faded from view, the farmer realized that the nauseating feeling was gone, and instead, the ache of guilt replaced it. It was burrowing deep, from the pit of their stomach to their chest. It was an excellent start to their day, already being on bad terms with a resident. A record, probably. The farmer exhaled a shaky breath before bending down and picking up the map that had slipped from their fingers. The valley, so brimming with life, had already begun to feel suffocating with this singular mistake. Other than the songbirds in the trees, the square was silent. The thoughts forming in the farmer's head swirled and crashed on each other; dread, apprehension, and embarrassment clouded their thinking. _But, it'll be okay_ , they tried reassuring themselves. They straightened out and took a deep breath. They weren't going to let a mistake ruin their morning despite feeling like it already did. And so they set out, once again. As they walked, they thought that maybe this time they'll be more in control of the situation. However, they couldn't get the man's eyes out of their mind. The ice that took root in his pupils and the cold exterior that cracked over his body was a sharp contrast to the lush valley. 

Was it the lack of familiarity that made them feel this way, or was it brief interest that had kept them from shoving the image away? Their interaction was fleeting, quick. And yet, the afterimage of their meeting was still very present in their mind. 

Regardless, the farmer's new life had already started. 


End file.
